MINUTES OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Seventy-ninth Session February 9, 2017
The Senate Committee on Education was called to order by Chair Moises Denis at 3:31 p.m. on Thursday, February 9, 2017, in Room 2149 of the Legislative Building, Carson City, Nevada. The meeting was videoconferenced to Room 4412E of the Grant Sawyer State Office Building, 555 East Washington Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada. Exhibit A is the Agenda. Exhibit B is the Attendance Roster. All exhibits are available and on file in the Research Library of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
Senator Moises Denis, Chair Senator Joyce Woodhouse, Vice Chair Senator Tick Segerblom Senator Pat Spearman Senator Don Gustavson Senator Scott Hammond Senator Becky Harris
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:
Todd Butterworth, Policy Analyst Asher Killian, Counsel Linda Hiller, Committee Secretary
OTHERS PRESENT:
Matt Morris, Legislative Director, Office of the Governor Jennifer Zinth, Education Commission of the States John V. White, Chancellor, Nevada System of Higher Education Steve Canavero, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Department of Education Kent Ervin, Nevada Faculty Alliance Robert Wynegar, Vice President, Academic & Student Affairs, Western Nevada College Kyle Dalpe, Interim Dean of Technical Sciences, Truckee Meadows Community College Carrie Buck, Executive Director, Pinecrest Academy of Nevada Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 2
Michael Flores, College of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas Brian Mitchell, Director, Office of Science, Innovation and Technology, Office of the Governor Cory Hunt, Northern Regional Director, Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development Manny Lamarre, Executive Director, Office of Workforce Innovation, Office of the Governor Terri Janison, United Way of Southern Nevada Frank Woodbeck, Jobs for America’s Graduates Nevada Mackenzie Lawson Aaron West, CEO, Nevada Builders Alliance Justin Harrison, Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce Patrick Gavin, Executive Director, State Public Charter School Authority Kerrie Kramer, Charter School Association of Nevada Karl Bennert Hayley Chick Patrick Peters, Principal, Silver Stage High School Peggy Lear Bowen Stephen Augspurger, Executive Director, Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-Technical Employees Nicole Rourke, Associate Superintendent, Community & Government Relations, Clark County School District Lindsay Anderson, Director, Government Affairs, Washoe County School District Mary Pierczynski, Nevada Association of School Superintendents Jessica Ferrato, Nevada Association of School Boards Craig M. Stevens, Clark County School District
CHAIR DENIS: Welcome to the first meeting of the Senate Committee on Education. I will now open Senate Bill (S.B.) 19.
SENATE BILL 19: Revises provisions relating to dual credit courses. (BDR 34-227)
MATT MORRIS (Legislative Director, Office of the Governor): This bill will expand, enhance and improve dual enrollment education opportunities for students in Nevada. Senate Bill 19 is a priority bill for the Governor’s Office, along with S.B. 66, both of which expand educational Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 3 opportunities for students in an effort to build a skilled and competitive workforce.
SENATE BILL 66: Revises provisions relating to internship programs. (BDR 34-254)
In his State of the State address recently, Governor Sandoval articulated a strategic priority for workforce reform in the State and outlined his vision for putting all Nevadans, regardless of age or circumstance, on a career pathway toward success. In recent years, Nevada has seen unprecedented economic growth and diversification, attracting industries and companies that will redefine our State’s commercial landscape. If we do not develop a skilled and competitive workforce, we risk forfeiting our potential for continued growth.
The intent of S.B. 19 is to expand dual enrollment programs across the State, especially for traditionally underserved student populations and those who often face barriers. Dual enrollment offers high school students the opportunity to complete college-level coursework while also earning high school credits toward graduation. Data has shown that students who complete even one course of dual credit coursework are significantly more likely to pursue postsecondary education, less likely to need remedial coursework after high school graduation and are more likely to complete college on time. These outcomes promote success beyond high school.
Senate Bill 19 establishes a Statewide policy expressing a commitment to dual enrollment as a component for workforce development and student success. This is important for two reasons—it shows that Nevada is serious about providing every possible opportunity for students to succeed and it also reduces some of the stigma associated with dual enrollment. This is because sometimes high school students fear they are not ready to be in a college classroom or environment, which can be a barrier in itself. By expressing a collective commitment to dual enrollment, we are addressing some of those issues.
The bill also requires that school districts and charter schools enter into cooperative agreements with postsecondary institutions to offer dual enrollment courses. Some jurisdictions in Nevada have readily embraced dual enrollment programs, but engagement levels and participation rates in the State vary. The bill requires that all school districts and charter schools participate in the programs through cooperative agreements with postsecondary providers. Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 4
The cooperative agreements are one of the most common mechanisms utilized by states to require and expand dual enrollment programs. The language of S.B. 19 is designed to be flexible; it aims at empowering school districts and institutions to be innovative and narrowly tailor the needs of their programs to the unique needs of their students. These flexible agreements should help districts and schools develop their own best methods for covering costs and details about their programs.
This bill requires that information be provided to students and families about dual enrollment programs at the start of the school year because not everyone is aware of the opportunity. There is already a requirement in statute that certain information about educational opportunities be provided to students, and we want to ensure that dual enrollment is included. Provisions in S.B. 19 also remove limitations on the number of credits a student may earn while in high school. In some Nevada counties, increasing numbers of students are graduating from high school having already earned associate degrees.
The bill also expands the types of coursework for which a student may earn dual credits. For example, students can take remedial courses for college while still in high school. That way, when they enter college, they are ready to go into general coursework without having to catch up. In 2015, the Workforce Innovation for a New Nevada (OWINN) Account was established through A.B. 1 of the 29th Special Session, providing funding for partnerships between employers and postsecondary institutions to offer programs aimed at supplying employers with educated, qualified workers for their specific needs.
We want to ensure that a high school student who participates in a program pursuant to that statute is given dual credit for those programs. This relates to work-based learning opportunities, which is another critical component to the Governor’s workforce reform strategy that is addressed significantly in S.B. 66. These two bills complement each other and can be viewed as a package to expand educational opportunities with an eye toward closing the skills gap, increasing credential attainment and supporting the Governor’s goal of ensuring that 60 percent of Nevadans have a postsecondary credential by the year 2025.
SENATOR HAMMOND: The way I read the bill, if this were passed, the program is not mandatory, but the cooperative agreement portion is mandatory. Is that correct?
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MR. MORRIS: Yes, the bill would mandate the cooperative agreement. Many of the school districts are already entering into these types of cooperative agreements or memorandums of understanding (MOU) that are similar. The mandate is the agreement. We want to ensure there is flexibility in the system so the details about what types of programs are offered can be worked out between the school districts and the postsecondary institutions. We do not believe there should be prescriptions for those agreements because what works in one area might not work in another.
JENNIFER ZINTH (Education Commission of the States): I represent the Education Commission of the States (ECS), which is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization based in Denver, Colorado. We serve education policy makers all across the U.S., including governors, state boards of education and higher education, providing unbiased information and opportunities for collaboration.
I have a presentation (Exhibit C) illustrating state research data reflecting the national perspective on dual enrollment programs. We can compare the potential changes proposed by S.B. 19 to the ECS model policy for dual enrollment. Many state policy makers are paying increased attention to dual enrollment, page 4, Exhibit C, largely because state data and academic research illustrate that students who participate are more likely to have positive outcomes than students who do not participate. Among the benefits listed, students who start postsecondary education in remedial classes are less likely to complete college than their peers who do not. States that are prioritizing high success in postsecondary education are finding that dual enrollment programming helps with reaching those goals, particularly for students who traditionally have not been in the college pipeline, including those who are the first to go beyond high school, low income students and students of color.
Indiana has an interesting history with dual enrollment because all their high schools are required by statute to offer at least two Advanced Placement (AP) courses and at least two dual credit courses. From 2012 to 2014, looking at which students are only taking AP courses in high school and which students are taking only dual credit courses, Indiana showed a big income difference, page 5, Exhibit C. Thirteen percent of the AP-only students qualified for Free and Reduced-Price Lunch (FRL), compared to 30 percent of dual credit-only Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 6 students, representing fairly different student populations in the same high school.
There is also data about SAT Exam scores between the two populations. On page 6, Exhibit C, looking at 2012-2014 Indiana data, students who took both AP and dual credit courses were far more likely to attend postsecondary school than those who took either AP-only, dual credit-only or neither. The dual credit-only students showed lower participation in postsecondary education than those who took AP-only classes or both. Keep in mind that about one-third of those students are eligible for FRL, which is likely a significant gain since those individuals might not have enrolled in college had they not participated in dual enrollment. There is a 25 percent drop for students who took neither dual credit or AP courses. These dual credit opportunities definitely help set a student’s sights on college, especially for those who might not have had thoughts about college when entering high school.
Participation rates in dual enrollment programs vary considerably across all 50 states. We know that some high school seniors are already 18 years of age in September of their senior year. In some cases, students may enroll in a private institution or a public institution. Across the states, most often, the students who participate in dual enrollment are doing so through a public, two-year college, page 7, Exhibit C.
Iowa is often cited as a national leader in dual enrollment with nearly 30 percent of the state’s public high school students participating in dual enrollment classes. Nevada, as shown on the graph, is fifth from the bottom of the list of states taking part in dual enrollment. There are some barriers like finance and access that could be addressed to increase participation rates in dual enrollment, page 8, Exhibit C.
Many states first enacted their dual enrollment policies between the 1980s and early 2000s. When first enacted, those policies were largely considered an alternative to AP classes for the most advanced students who had already exhausted every opportunity at their high school and wanted more. Some states began to realize other types of students could benefit from dual enrollment programs such as Career and Technical Education (CTE) students, for whom AP is not a viable alternative. Middle-achieving, lower-income and first-generation students who may not have their sights set on college but have the potential to Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 7 succeed, achieve a confidence boost when taking a college course in high school and realizing that it is something they can pursue.
There is a correlation between states having certain policy elements in place and a higher percentage of high school students participating and succeeding in dual enrollment, along with a more diverse population taking part (page 9, Exhibit C). In 2009, the Colorado General Assembly rewrote its dual enrollment policies because the program had previously been underused. Those who participated were more affluent, female, nonminority students from suburban school districts. In early 2016, the Colorado Department of Higher Education published a report showing Hispanic students—approximately 25 percent of the K-12 public school population—were participating in dual enrollment at about 25 percent. This is not something being seen nationwide, but the percentages are inching up in states with more of the key policy components addressing that population.
The model policy components of access and finance for successful dual enrollment programs in states are largely included in S.B. 19 as seen on pages 9, 10 and 11, Exhibit C. States cannot unreasonably limit the number of courses a student can enroll in for dual credit and that is also addressed in the bill. Making students and their parents aware of the opportunity for dual credit courses is another model policy component because students cannot participate in a program if they do not know it exists. This may seem obvious, but students in large high schools with low counselor-to-student ratios may be less aware of the option of dual credit classes. Senate Bill 19 makes informing families of AP courses and other opportunities including dual credit courses a must.
SENATOR HAMMOND: On page 10, Exhibit C, it says, “Requires districts/charters to offer dual credit,” yet in testimony we heard that it is not a requirement, but it is available. Which is it?
MR. MORRIS: The requirement is that the school districts and the charter schools enter into a cooperative agreement to offer dual credit programs.
SENATOR HAMMOND: Is this only after they decide they want to do it?
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MR. MORRIS: No, there is a requirement that the districts enter into the agreement, which is the mechanism by which they offer the dual credit program. The details of the program may vary from district to district, but the agreement is that the dual credit coursework will be offered to students.
SENATOR HAMMOND: So, the intent is not to mandate the dual credit program at every school, but you are saying that the district enters into an agreement and then if the school wants to take advantage of it, it can. Or, are you telling me every school has to do a dual enrollment program?
MR. MORRIS: It is district-based, not school-based, so the school district would enter into the agreement and they would then work out which schools will participate.
SENATOR HAMMOND: So there is choice.
CHAIR DENIS: Is there guidance on which schools to choose? Is the agreement with the community college or university and then the school district has to decide which schools will participate? Or, does the school decide it wants to participate?
MR. MORRIS: The mandate for the cooperation, or the MOU, needs to have a few things present. One needs to be the prerequisites, but the school districts need to be free to determine what types of programs they will include. For example, will there be online distance education? We do not spell out these requirements in the bill. The agreements are required to be filed with the State Board of Education (SBE), which is then authorized to develop regulations for the application for dual enrollment. Under S.B. 19, each school district must offer an application for students, which relates back to guidance that would come from the SBE. We do not spell them out in the bill because there are some fantastic dual enrollment programs ongoing, and the intent is not to interfere with them or impede them, but to expand them.
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CHAIR DENIS: On the model policy, (page 10, Exhibit C) it says that “all students, parents annually provided program information.” You mentioned that in some cases it has been difficult because they might have a high student-to-counselor ratio. Is that a hindrance to success in these programs?
MS. ZINTH: Under the model policy components, it states that all students and parents receive information about dual enrollment programs in their area. In the absence of informing all students and parents of the programs, students are often left to their own devices. A counselor making decisions about who should be participating in dual enrollment might be selectively providing that information. When that happens, not all students have access to the dual enrollment program. We want to prevent that.
CHAIR DENIS: In those states providing this information to everyone, is there a difference in the success rates compared to those that do not?
MS. ZINTH: We have not done an analysis of this.
CHAIR DENIS: I have been to schools lately where I asked about the counselor-to-student ratio because the success of those students having someone to help them is important. Some states have lower ratios than we have here, where some of the high schools have 800 students to one counselor. It makes a difference.
SENATOR HARRIS: How many Nevada schools currently have a dual enrollment plan and are engaged in these types of agreements with institutes of higher education?
MR. MORRIS: We do not have a complete picture of this across the State. We do have some data, district by district and program by program, and the engagement levels will vary. It is one of the components we are exploring in this process with S.B. 19.
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SENATOR HARRIS: I would also like to know what the success of the program is and how the families like it.
SENATOR SPEARMAN: There was a study at the University of Minnesota in 2016 titled “Uneven Access: Dual Enrollment Programs and Students of Color in Minnesota.” The report stated:
The quantitative analysis reviewed statewide patterns of dual enrollment participation by students of color. Disparities in participation existed for students of color throughout the state, regardless of school type, composition, and location suggesting a perpetuation of structural racism.
It is a really good program, but one of the things that typically occurs is that access can be there, but if people do not know the access is there and you are just looking at AP students, how do we ensure that all students who do not fit a particular model are aware of its existence?
MR. MORRIS: That is a driving factor of this bill. In the budget process, monies are being set aside—I believe that figure is somewhere around $2.4 million—for college and career readiness grant funding. There will be preference built in for those competitive grant funds so districts can apply for the purpose of covering the cost of dual enrollment and accelerated learning opportunities for students who are FRL and traditionally underserved. The K-12 budget will be setting aside funding that the school districts can apply for to cover those costs. We can estimate how many students those funds will serve, but we do not have the data about how many students are not accessing dual enrollment today. To your point, the access issue prevents us from knowing how many students could benefit from this, but this is something the bill is designed to address.
MS. ZINTH: On page 11, Exhibit C, the financial aspect of the model policy requires that financial terms be set for a local agreement, which is also what we see in S.B. 19. We do not want students and parents to cover the entire financial burden because that limits participation from all students.
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Finally, this initiative toward dual enrollment programs is being taken on by many states. The Obama administration picked it up in the fall of 2015 by launching a pilot initiative to allow individual institutions to permit low income students to apply their Pell funds toward dual enrollment tuition. Some Nevada institutions are participating in this. Because it is a pilot, and also because of the change of administration, we do not know if this initiative is going to continue.
If states are looking at dual enrollment as a key strategy to closing attainment rate gaps between more advantaged and less advantaged students or simply increasing postsecondary attainment rates overall, it is incumbent upon states to look at their policies and ensure that access is as broad as possible and that there are no unintended barriers.
CHAIR DENIS: How have other states managed to get information to students?
MS. ZINTH: State policies are usually silent on how they get information to students. What is usually in state policy are the types of information that must be disseminated to students and their families in terms of benefits of program participation, costs that may be borne by the students, etc. There are a few examples of states that specify how that is disseminated. Ohio rewrote its dual enrollment policy in 2014 during the 130th Ohio General Assembly, specifying that in addition to the school Websites, information must be disseminated in an annual letter to parents, in the student’s handbook and in group informational sessions. In Washington State, they provide a waiver for low income students and specify that postsecondary institutions offering dual enrollment should utilize social media like Twitter and Facebook to make low income students aware of the opportunities for dual credit programs. I have submitted additional information on dual enrollment programs (Exhibit D).
JOHN V. WHITE (Chancellor, Nevada System of Higher Education): I am in support of this bill and its relation to Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE). Improving attainment is a major focus of the Board of Regents. To do that, we have to improve enrollment, persistence and graduation rates. This bill will aid in all those areas. At the September 8, 2016 meeting, the Board approved strong support for dual enrollment and instructed campuses to enter into cooperative agreements on dual enrollment with school systems. Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 12
Consequently, if S.B. 19 were to be passed, our institutions are already set up and eager to negotiate the agreements.
This dual credit approach supports college continuation. In the Class of 2015, 49 percent of those students enrolled in a NSHE institutions and around 14 percent enrolled elsewhere. Of the dual enrollment students, 69 percent of those enrolled in higher education. That percentage could even be higher because we only have data on those students who enrolled in Nevada postsecondary schools, not students who went out of state or to private institutions. We think this data illustrates that dual enrollment has helped direct students to higher education and promotes the completion of degrees. In 2015, 123 students in the program graduated from high school with a certificate or an associate’s degree, representing 4.6 percent of participating dual enrollment students. Because those students were already advanced, 13.8 percent of them had an associate’s degree or certificate within a year of their high school graduation.
Currently, we have 111 high schools participating in dual enrollment. The top 25 schools all have at least 40 students and the top school had 176 students in a record year. It is hard to precisely discern the success rate of students, but if you look at the top 5 courses taken, enrollment of which varied from 427 to 902 students, the success rate in those classes was between 88 percent and 94 percent completion. The top 25 courses, which ranged from 88 to 902 students, had a success rate of between 75 percent and 100 percent completion. Two of the top 25 courses had 100 percent student completion. We think the evidence supports the fact that dual enrollment helps with college enrollment, persistence and completion.
I grew up in a rural town in Louisiana and I was bored in high school. As I approached my senior year, I took community college classes in my town and crafted my own dual enrollment program. I was delighted to take an accounting course I would never have been able to take in high school. I was enthralled by the Ph.D. history teacher who gave life to that subject in a way I had not found in high school. I also found a love for grammar after taking a composition class at the college instead of the rote classes my cousins taught me in high school. That whole experience enlivened me and got me going. The key with S.B. 19 is that we want to ensure that dual enrollment is not only available to all Nevada students, but that they all have the means and the access to it. My own experience underscores my personal commitment to dual enrollment programs. Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 13
SENATOR HAMMOND: It sounds like there is a lot of data supporting the idea that we can go up from where we are right now. Some schools are going to embrace this and we definitely have room to improve. There are many students I talk to who get into dual enrollment and have a two-year degree when they get out of high school.
STEVE CANAVERO (Superintendent of Public Instruction, Department of Education): The Board of Regents of NSHE as well as the State Board of Education (SBE) entered into joint resolutions to support the expansion of these opportunities for students. In the 2015 Legislative Session, $8 million was allocated—$3 million the first year and $5 million the second year—for college and career readiness grants. Those grants included the areas of dual enrollment, AP and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-based activities. In the first year of those allocations, across five school districts, 1,620 students were served by dual enrollment, earning more than 8,600 credits. In Humboldt County, there was a 63 percent increase in participation in dual enrollment.
In answer to the question posed by Senator Spearman about how to inform individuals and families of these opportunities and remove barriers, S.B. 19 lays out a good policy framework to remove barriers and increase access. One way we can approach the issue is the same way we approached the AP funding in the college and career readiness grant, which is on a separate line in the budget. In the past, we noticed there were significant gaps in the participation rate of AP classes for students who are Native American and African American. In our grant process, we incentivized by creating a priority for particular school districts to serve those students in gaining access to AP courses. We can do the same for dual enrollment by creating a priority within the budget bill to ensure there is a priority for students in poverty to have access to the dual enrollment opportunities provided for by this bill, in addition to the other available dollars.
MR. MORRIS: We have had very constructive conversations with representatives from the school districts over the past several months. We will need to clarify some of the language in the bill. There was an inadvertent omission in the bill where Nevada State College was left out, so we need to add language to correct that. The districts have expressed concerns about some of the mechanics of the cooperative agreements. We want to ensure there is clarity in the bill regarding those agreements and some of the financing pieces of those agreements. We Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 14 have had candid conversations about the financing piece and we want to continue that conversation with the districts.
The first time we added dual enrollment to Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) was in 1989, and the last time we updated that statute was in 2007. We want to revisit how we are doing dual enrollment, encouraging programs that are working well and looking for opportunities to expand these programs for any student in Nevada. That is the point of this bill.
KENT ERVIN (Nevada Faculty Alliance): I am a chemistry professor at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) representing the Nevada Faculty Alliance and the Nevada affiliate of the American Association for University Professors. We are the organization of faculty at all NSHE institutions. We are generally in strong support of programs like dual credit and AP that help expand the accessibility of students for college- level work and keeps them ready for postsecondary education. We find that students who have trouble with placement exams and get put into remedial courses are often those students who completed their college prep courses as juniors and had a gap, so they are rusty. Keeping them engaged and in college-level courses is a good thing.
I am a chemist, so I will use a chemical analogy to how dual enrollment works. There is an activation barrier, which is a critical configuration for molecules, so once molecules get there, they react. For students, there is an activation barrier to think about doing college-level work and having a program associated with high schools that help to get them going. It is a good thing.
Like Chancellor White, I had personal experience that greatly influenced me in high school. I was in a rural town in Kansas in an accelerated math program and during my senior year, there were no classes left for me to take. I was able to go to the junior college and take some classes. That was the activation barrier for me. Our only concern with the bill is that the cooperative agreement needs to really address the issue of course transfer credits being usable in postsecondary schools.
ROBERT WYNEGAR (Vice President, Academic & Student Affairs, Western Nevada College): We endorse S.B. 19. We started our dual enrollment program, Jump Start College, at Western Nevada College (WNC) three years ago. Initially, we thought Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 15 there would be 40 to 50 students taking maybe 6 to 9 credit hours per semester, and we hoped we would eventually be able to build the program to 200 students. We woefully underestimated the demand for the program. In the first year, Jump Start College had 199 students with the vast majority taking 12 credit hours per semester. The success of those courses measured in the percentage of classes being passed was 94 percent. I will happily put that statistic up against any other operation in the U.S. To support that kind of effort, we are committed to putting supports around these students to ensure we have everything they need to be successful, including intrusive counseling, peer mentoring and tutoring services.
Based on the success of that first year and knowing we had a model that worked, we dove headfirst into dual enrollment the next year. Working with our partner high schools, we changed the model to taking 15 credits per semester becoming the expectation. That helped the high school seniors to finish an entire year of college and get it out of the way. For students who were college-ready as juniors, they could earn their associate’s degrees by the end of high school.
We also added a second track for students who were academically eligible to do college work but whose math or English proficiency might not be at the level we wanted. It was sort of a light version of the program. We added a CTE track that year as well. That year, Jump Start College served 350 students and our success rate was higher than the first year. We are now in the third year and we are serving 412 students at either our Carson or Fallon Western Nevada College (WNC) campuses and also at six different high schools.
KYLE DALPE (Interim Dean of Technical Sciences, Truckee Meadows Community College): One of the most rewarding things I have done in my career in higher education was when I served as acting president of Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC) last year and participated in the May commencement, awarding high school students degrees from the college. Two weeks later, I awarded them their high school diplomas. They had earned so many credits, they technically graduated college before they graduated from high school.
At TMCC, we have a Washoe County School District (WCSD) high school that has been on our Dandini Campus for more than 20 years, and we have ACE High School, a charter school, embedded in our technology center. We have Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 16
other students throughout the State, primarily through Washoe County, who are in part of our dual credit program modeled after the Jump Start College at WNC. We support S.B. 19.
I also serve on the Board of the Educational Alliance. Coupled with WCSD, we have allotted funds to help students who are not able to go through our program because of the cost. The college has stepped up and put in a retention specialist because one thing we want students to do is to complete their coursework so then we know they are on their way.
CARRIE BUCK (Executive Director, Pinecrest Academy of Nevada): I am the executive director of Pinecrest Academy in Las Vegas, a tuition-free public charter school serving kindergarten through ninth grade. We pride ourselves in uniting the community to prepare our students for college and careers. We are growing our high school every year, looking forward to having this opportunity for dual credit classes. With the reported 66 percent of Nevada’s high school graduates enrolling in college, it is essential that we increase the number of Nevada students enrolling in postsecondary education and that we provide them with the essential skills to see their education through to completion.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, in one calendar year, more than 1.4 million high school students took courses offered by a college or university for credit through dual enrollment. That research showed that this enrollment can lead to improved outcomes, especially for students from low income backgrounds by improving high school grades, increasing college enrollment and higher rates of persistence in college and increased credit attainment.
At Nevada State High School (NSHS), a 5-star charter school since 2005, they have achieved a 99 percent high school graduation rate with 91 percent of their graduates enrolling in a postsecondary institution. They attribute this success to the academic rigor achieved through dual course enrollment. With each of their students earning an average of 21 credits per semester, NSHS students are fully enrolled college students who graduate either with, or just a few credits shy of, an associate’s degree. We support S.B. 19.
MICHAEL FLORES (College of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas): We support S.B. 19. We have a strong partnership with the Clark County School District (CCSD). Our Jump Start program started 10 years ago and in the Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 17
2015-2016 school year we had 620 students participating, earning approximately 3,600 credits. We are happy to see the cooperative agreement in this bill as it will ensure that teachers have the appropriate credentials. We also support the review of private institutions that will participate in this program. I submitted a paper highlighting some of our dual enrollment programs (Exhibit E).
BRIAN MITCHELL (Director, Office of Science, Innovation and Technology, Office of the Governor): I oversee the Governor’s STEM education and workforce strategies. The Governor’s goal is for 60 percent of Nevadans between the ages of 25 and 34 to have some form of postsecondary education or credential by 2025. Twenty percent of jobs now require a high level knowledge of STEM subjects. That figure is only going to grow, yet only 30 percent of that targeted age group in Nevada meets the standard for STEM.
As Nevada’s economy continues to grow and diversify, we will need increased numbers of workers with STEM skills. Dual enrollment is a key strategy to grow this workforce. Many of the opportunities for dual enrollment are in skilled and technical fields such as advanced manufacturing, computer science, mechatronics, IT, robotics, diesel and welding. These fields often require an associate’s degree or less and, at an average of $50,000 per year, pay higher than the State’s average wage.
Dual enrollment provides high school students an opportunity to get on a high quality career pathway much earlier in life, graduating high school with many or all of the skills necessary for a job in STEM. It is common knowledge that minorities are underrepresented in STEM at all levels of employment. To increase equity in STEM, the State of Maryland partnered a large school district with several of their colleges to focus on delivering dual enrollment in science, math and engineering to students who had been previously underrepresented in those fields. This partnership resulted in more than 3,000 college credits delivered to 381 students. The important part of that data is that of those 381 students, nearly all entered college immediately after high school. Many of those students came from disadvantaged backgrounds and more than half declared STEM majors and 80 percent persisted in STEM after their first year in college. Those numbers are impressive for any student group and the persistence rate in STEM is perhaps the most important part of that statistic.
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The design of S.B. 19 is to encourage more students to pursue dual enrollment. It increases awareness, removes barriers and adopts best practices from other states that have already implemented the dual enrollment programs.
CORY HUNT (Northern Regional Director, Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development): One of the first few questions we get from companies seriously looking at relocating to Nevada is about the quality and availability of a skilled workforce. We are in strong support of S.B. 19 and feel it addresses that issue which is critical, not only for new and existing businesses, but for the well-being of our citizens. The programs in this bill ensure that every Nevadan, especially our children, have an opportunity to excel in the new Nevada. That is our goal. The components of this bill complement the work our office is doing to create the Learn and Earn Advanced Career Pathways (LEAP) framework. In the LEAP framework, there is a path for growth within industries through education. From high school to higher education institutions, we give on-ramps and off-ramps and so students can see how to grow in their careers. Dual credit courses help accelerate the success of those students in those frameworks.
Section 7 of S.B. 19 helps reinforce our workforce development efforts through the Workforce Innovation Fund to ensure that students get credit for their education and experience through those programs we are funding throughout their careers. These efforts promote and encourage the importance of lifelong learning and accessibility to additional training and certifications leading to higher wage positions for all Nevadans including underemployed, unemployed and incumbent workers.
MANNY LAMARRE (Executive Director, Governor’s Office of Workforce Innovation for a New Nevada): At the Governor’s Office of Workforce Innovation for a New Nevada (OWINN), we look at workforce development to create a skilled, diverse and aligned workforce with partners across Nevada. One of the greatest barriers to success is students graduating without the skills necessary to obtain some form of postsecondary credentials. Dual credit is an important strategy to address these challenges that students face, and without it, they are at a significant disadvantage that can accumulate over their lifetimes.
According to the National Skills Coalition, 51 percent of Nevada jobs in 2017 are middle-skill jobs that require more than a high school degree but less than a Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 19 four-year postsecondary degree. A recent analysis of the 2017 high demand, high wage occupations conducted by OWINN in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development for the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR), shows that only 10 percent of those occupations do not require a formal education, while 47 percent require more than a high school diploma and 34 percent require a college degree. This means that individuals without postsecondary degrees will be excluded from 90 percent of the most in-demand occupations in the State.
Senate Bill 19 will play a critical role in supporting students because dual enrollment is key in developing effective career pathways for students, particularly in high-demand areas. By exposing students to relevant postsecondary coursework within a career pathway, they get the added benefit of being prepared for both college and career success. Research has shown that dual enrollment is important to prepare students facing barriers to employment.
Nevada is a majority-minority State, so there is an increasing need to leverage programs to support minority students and dual enrollment is an effective strategy. This bill will increase access and address equity. There are direct and indirect benefits to increasing dual enrollment participation, and any student who is capable should have access to it. I anticipate there will be students whose dreams are sparked so they realize their full potential. We support S.B. 19.
TERRI JANISON (United Way of Southern Nevada): We support the extension of dual enrollment courses for our Nevada students. The Board of Directors for the United Way just adopted our community-based agenda, encompassing a cradle-to-career approach on the education spectrum. We start with early education, move to high school with an end focusing on college and career readiness.
For the past two years, we have been leading a conversation with CCSD and our higher education partners to increase the number of people with a postsecondary degree and/or certification. The work was funded by the Lumina Foundation, which is driving a national campaign to reach a goal of 60 percent of adults having a postsecondary degree or certificate by 2025. Right now in Nevada, we have just over 30 percent of the population with a postsecondary degree or certification. United Way of Southern Nevada sees dual enrollment as an important part of reaching this goal. Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 20
FRANK WOODBECK (Jobs for America’s Graduates Nevada): Today I am here in support of S.B. 19 as Chair of the Board of Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) Nevada. I want to address some concerns voiced by Senator Spearman regarding access of dual enrollment programs by lower income students. Currently, the JAG program serves 54 programs in 43 schools within 12 counties. One of the intensified programs we have is the Go Deep Initiative that serves more than 500 students in 4 high schools in North Las Vegas. More than 50 percent of those students are in the bottom 25 percent of the class with more than 40 percent of those students Hispanic, 17 percent African American, 11 percent multi-ethnic and 25 percent Caucasian. We plan to have those students in a pilot program as early as this fall if S.B. 19 passes, giving them access and encouragement into the dual enrollment program.
With our friends at the College of Southern Nevada, North Las Vegas (CSN), we want to build a pathway for these students to the CSN campus in North Las Vegas. Our graduation rate for the JAG program Statewide is 83 percent, which is a particularly good rate for our male students. We need to provide a pathway for these students into higher education or postsecondary education that would lead them into a career. I have submitted my letter of support (Exhibit F).
MACKENZIE LAWSON: I am a recent graduate of the Fernley High School Jump Start program. Attending the program at WNC was one of the greatest decisions I made in high school. It allowed me to grow as a student, not only academically but in all aspects. I was a member of the dance team and every aspect of school, and I still managed to participate in school functions and fill out all my college applications.
The program really helped me grow as a student. It was more than a bunch of smart kids taking college classes. It consisted of the overachievers and those who were driven and those who enjoy working and being proactive toward their futures and who really want to go to college and take the next step. It was also a test for some. For me, it was definitely rough—doing hours of homework, grilling exams and balancing the in-high school aspect while maintaining the in-college aspect. But I did it.
I believe that without those last two years of my high school being some of the toughest challenges I ever experienced, I would not be where I am today. I am a nursing student taking very difficult classes, and I apply everything I learned in Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 21
Jump Start to this. I learned how to be self-sufficient and how to manage my time wisely, get all my assignments done and take hard exams. I also learned how to write a college essay. I was very well prepared for college, and now I am a student at UNR. This is my freshman year and I have watched my peers crumble around me. They do not know how to write a college essay, manage their time and take those grueling exams.
My class in Fernley managed a 99 percent pass rate, receiving a C+ or higher in almost all of our classes, including Calculus 181, which was not very fun. A handful of us finished 2 years with 15 credits per semester and an associate’s degree. I finished my last year with a 4.7 grade point average (GPA) and made the dean’s list three out of my four semesters. I paid a total of $2,000 for my first 2 years of college in comparison to UNR’s nearly $12,000 for pretty much the exact same degree.
I was very successful in this program, and so were most of the students in my group. We were all striving to do better, be better individuals, work harder and push ourselves. We accomplished what we wanted to accomplish. I am in full support of S.B. 19 and believe that passing it will allow hundreds of students to be able to succeed, too.
AARON WEST (CEO, Nevada Builders Alliance): On behalf of the 700 contractors in the Nevada Builders Alliance, we support S.B. 19. You may wonder why a construction guy is here in support of higher education and I am here to tell you that construction is not a path of last resort; it is a step forward into a very prosperous and productive career. Around 90 percent of my job is in workforce development, and I have had the honor of interacting with individuals in the TMCC High School and through WNC’s Jump Start program. It is heartwarming. Talking to those populations, there are many participants who are disadvantaged and who might not have had the opportunity to engage in higher education after high school.
JUSTIN HARRISON (Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce): We also support S.B. 19 because we know those joining the workforce in the next decade will overwhelmingly need postsecondary credentials of some type. This program helps break down the barrier to folks hoping to go to college or receive that postsecondary credential. My colleague, Tray Abney, from The Chamber of Reno, Sparks and Northern Nevada, had to step out but wanted me to voice its support as well. Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 22
PATRICK GAVIN (Executive Director, State Public Charter School Authority): We strongly support this bill and urge its passage. As the State Public Charter School Authority, we are the 18th district in the State and we are treated as such. We have a number of charter schools currently operating dual enrollment programs including NSHS campuses in Clark County and at WNC and Oasis Academy in Fallon, providing their high school programs exclusively through dual enrollment. Every student at those schools attends college at either WNC or through Nevada State College and University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). These schools have historically been two of the highest performing schools in the State. In most years, NSHS is either the highest or the second highest achieving school in graduation rate for the State.
In response to Senator Spearman’s question about diversity, NSHS is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse charter schools in the State. It is a majority-minority school, and it also primarily targets low income communities and just opened its third campus in East Las Vegas to ensure those opportunities are being offered to students from a broad range of backgrounds.
KERRIE KRAMER (Charter School Association of Nevada): We are in full support of S.B. 19. We feel dual enrollment is a huge draw for charter high schools and we applaud the idea of being able to enter into a more formal agreement with our NSHE partners.
KARL BENNERT: I am a student at Silver Stage High School (SSHS), currently enrolled in WNC’s applied industrial technology program. The Jump Start program at WNC offers more than just an associate’s degree to students in high school; it is also offering them a chance to get a head start on starting their dream careers. That is what it is doing for me. It really helps all the students.
HAYLEY CHICK: I am also a student at SSHS who is participating in the manufacturing program. It is off the CTE track involving WNC’s applied industrial technology. It is a valuable program, considering Tesla’s recent gigafactory build. We learn things like the basics of electronic technology and pneumatics, and we are currently preparing for the Manufacturing Technician 1 (MT1) exams. If we get that certification, we can then go to Tesla or Panasonic and get a job above entry level, which is great for people out of high school who do not want to be a broke college student living off of Top Ramen. Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 23
I personally did not want to do regular Jump Start. I wanted to do something different, so I jumped at this opportunity. I am unsure of my final career, but this is a stepping stone for the foundation of things I want to do and it will help me explore. I support S.B. 19 and think that all students should have the opportunity to do what I am doing and find a program that fits them.
PATRICK PETERS (Principal, Silver Stage High School): With the road of hope that goes from Tesla to my school three miles away, dual credit is a great opportunity for our students that is leveling the playing field. We have 80 percent FRL in our area at our elementary school. We have had 40 students in the past 2 years in dual enrollment or Jump Start College, earning more than 1,000 credits. Calculated at the UNR rate, that is a quarter of a million dollars.
We started the Jump Start program with WNC and their CTE program, and they have been a wonderful partner with us. There is more than $60,000 worth of equipment in the CTE piece and the students are on the track for employment. We hear a lot about careers, but we do not hear a thing about employment. We are planning to have an employment fair at our high school, inviting Tesla, Switch and Panasonic to participate, interviewing our students and giving them jobs.
When you leave a high school in Nevada, fast food jobs are for high school students. We want our students to be career and college ready. I enthusiastically support S.B. 19 and so do the students and our entire staff.
SENATOR HAMMOND: What was the timeline on your numbers?
MR. PETERS: Two years between 40 students. We have five students who will have their associate’s degrees by the time they walk out.
PEGGY LEAR BOWEN: I graduated from junior high school in Reno and participated in the Teenage Opportunity Program (T.O.P.) taking classes in microbiology, botany, heart research and pathophysiology there. I suggest that at high school, it is a little late. People formulate what they want to do and where their dreams are much earlier. Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 24
The biggest discriminator is not skin color, gender or sexual orientation; it is the economic discriminator. If dual enrollment is good enough for the good schools and people who want to get involved with it, it is good enough for every school in Nevada. If you open it up to middle schools, that would be fantastic, too. The key factor of any of these programs is that the children who have dreams need to see themselves on a college campus. Most kids do not see themselves on a campus because of their backgrounds. This should allow for trade schools, too, because universities and community colleges are merely career paths.
I had a concern about the wording, “the ability to access college level content.” When I was selected for T.O.P., I was a good student, but I was selected for my interest, energy and passion, not my GPA. I was given a monetary stipend and had a professor who mentored me. When I graduated from high school, I had university credits waiting for me. Participants in this program need a stipend.
STEPHEN AUGSPURGER (Executive Director, Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-Technical Employees): We are strongly in support of S.B. 19. There are some issues the Clark County School District (CCSD) has with this bill, but I am confident we can work those out.
SENATOR WOODHOUSE: On the record, at the time we had it, the dual credits was not a bill. The dual credit issue was one of the priorities of the Southern Nevada Forum that was completed about a month ago.
NICOLE ROURKE (Associate Superintendent, Community & Government Relations, Clark County School District): We support dual enrollment programs. We have a very strong partnership with the CSN with numerous dual credit programs, not the least of which are the high schools there with up to a 99 percent completion rate. We have a Jump Start program at CCSD also, with completion rate of approximately 85 percent.
We definitely support dual credit, but we are neutral on S.B. 19 because of some concerns we have already addressed with Mr. Morris. Specifically, in section 4, subsection 2, paragraph (c) of the bill, the requirement that the school district or charter school pay the tuition of each dual credit course in an amount agreed to by the school district or the charter school. We estimate we Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 25 are now investing more than $700,000 of General Fund (GF) money on this program. We estimate this change in the bill will cost us an additional $300,000. We understand that grant funds are available, but we think that language ought to be specified not to require additional GF dollars. That is our one request for a change. We also think it might require some programming in our infinite campus system.
SENATOR HARRIS: How many high schools in CCSD participate in the dual enrollment program?
MS. ROURKE: We have CSN with three high schools on those campuses, and then we have four or five schools on the Jump Start program, although they are expanding. We are now talking about how to inform students about the program earlier. Personally, I just got a notice from my son’s school that they will be offering Jump Start at Southwest Career and Technical Academy next year.
SENATOR HARRIS: Encompassed in the NRS chapter, not in this bill, is the concept that there is an academic plan that has to be created. There is now a requirement for students engaged in that dual enrollment that there be an opportunity for the student and parents to look at what would best achieve the educational outcome for that student. Is this occurring now? How do you plan to implement the plan with regard to dual credit enrollment?
MS. ROURKE: That is one of our questions. How do we incorporate that into the existing academic plan we provide for all ninth grade students entering high school? We anticipate it is part of that plan, but we are seeking clarification from the Governor’s office.
SENATOR HARRIS: Are you updating those plans annually as required by statute?
MS. ROURKE: We follow statute and it is also part of our infinite campus system. If you log on as a parent, you can see that plan and it is always updated. Every credit the student learns is logged in and it shows the diploma he or she is currently Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 26 earning—either a standard diploma, advanced diploma or an advanced honors diploma, etc., with the path to achieve that diploma.
SENATOR HARRIS: How can parents participate in that process if it is just in the infinite campus?
MS. ROURKE: Our counselors reach out to parents and work with them on the plans.
SENATOR HARRIS: They are proactively calling homes?
MS. ROURKE: I would have to verify that for you.
LINDSAY ANDERSON (Director, Government Affairs, Washoe County School District): Every comprehensive high school at WCSD is engaged in dual enrollment. We also have a high school campus on the TMCC campus where we have students graduating from college with their associate’s degree even before graduating from high school. We are proud of that program.
We have students taking dual enrollment through TMCC, UNR and WNC and Great Basin College (GBC) has distance education classes our students can access. At Incline High School, many students are taking classes through Sierra Nevada College, a private college in Incline Village. Our strongest partnership is with TMCC and that college has made their entire course catalog available to our high school students. We even have some professors from that college teaching at our high school campuses. At Hug High School, for example, a Victory School, students can take dual enrollment classes on their own campus provided by TMCC. We are offering the remedial classes in the high schools so students can get those out of the way before graduating and attending postsecondary schools.
We estimated a $250,000 fiscal note on this program and that is a concern for us, but we do not want to overlook the other barriers such as the cost of books, student activity fees, health fees, parking fees—all things that are potential barriers when we are sending our students to a college campus.
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Regarding the academic plans, the student is matched with a counselor at the ninth grade level, with annual meetings to keep tabs on their status.
MARY PIERCZYNSKI (Nevada Association of School Superintendents): Dual enrollment is very important in the rural counties. Every county but Pershing County is participating in the programs. Pershing County is transitioning to online work next year. While students in Lyon County, Douglas County, Carson City County and Storey County are in partnership with WNC, most of the other rural counties are working with GBC.
Our concern with the bill is in section 4, subsection 2, paragraph (c), which was mentioned before regarding the school district’s requirement to pay the tuition. Each of our rural counties has rules and regulations in conjunction with its school boards and they are all a little different. These counties like the autonomy and choice, but we think that can all be ironed out.
In White Pine County, 50 percent of high school students are enrolled in at least one dual credit class. By the time they graduate, one-third of the high school students has earned approximately nine credits. This year, 3 of the 85 graduating students will have their associate’s degree with their high school degree.
JESSICA FERRATO (Nevada Association of School Boards): These programs are very robust which is especially important in the rural districts where the students have less access. Both WNC and GBC have done a great job coordinating with our school districts. Every district does things a little differently, so we work it out with the Governor’s Office. Our concerns are the same as others with section 4, subsection 2, paragraph (c).
CHAIR DENIS: I received a letter of support for this bill from Dr. Tiffany Tyler of Communities in Schools that I wish to enter into the record (Exhibit G). I will close the hearing on S.B.19 and open S.B. 66.
MR. CANAVERO: Senate Bill 66, the prefiled bill, does two things. In section 1, it establishes a grant-making program and criteria to expand internships across the State. In section 2, it extends the number of credits allowed beyond “not more than one credit.” That is the extent of the prefiled bill submitted in November 2016. Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 28
The proposed amendment (Exhibit H), after receiving input from various stakeholders, broadens the bill to go beyond internships to what we are calling work-based learning opportunities. The changes in section 1 develop what we are calling an incubator or pilot division to tap into the entrepreneurial spirit of our school districts, charter schools and nonprofits in the State. This way we can better appreciate what specifically a work-based learning experience is, and how to scale it in the future. Any available money would be distributed to certain school districts, charter schools or nonprofit organizations in partnership with school districts or charter schools. The SBE would receive input from OWINN before prescribing the trades or occupations the work-based learning program incubator would support.
Section 2, Exhibit H, addresses some of the barriers, removing the age and grade restrictions from NRS 389.167 because work-based learning can occur earlier than eleventh grade. Any necessary restrictions on internships could be identified by the applicants in their applications to the SBE and could also be prescribed in conditions developed by the Department of Education (NDE). This section also specifies that a district or governing body could not make the requirements of a work-based learning program overly demanding for students. Section 2 further describes the process for approving the applications and makes the process clearer for applicants to receive approval from the SBE for the programs.
Finally, we reiterate the intent of this program, which is to use the information learned from this pilot or incubator to inform future policy and budget changes. This notion is entirely elective. One thing we learned early from the prefiled bill to the proposed amendment, Exhibit H, is that while there are a number of opportunities for students, there are also a number of barriers. We also learned that to appreciate high quality work-based learning opportunities in our State, we felt it was a good idea to take a step back and seize an entrepreneurial spirit within our districts, charters and nonprofits to fully understand what a work- based learning experience could look like.
MR. LAMARRE: I have an overview of a survey done by OWINN. It is one of the largest surveys that attempts to identify the barriers young adults face with training and employment. Our mission is stated on page 2 of my presentation, (Exhibit I).
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The Maasai Tribe in east Africa is known for their highly intelligent and fierce warriors, page 4, Exhibit I. When they greet each other, they always say “How are the children?” and the answer is always, “All the children are well.” The reason I mention that is because when we started looking at understanding the barriers to workforce development, we wanted to go straight to the source and speak to students to hear what they see as their barriers to training and employment.
There is an ongoing study by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showing that young adults who were unemployed for 6 weeks or more as teens earned up to $487 less a week than individuals who did not experience these long gaps in unemployment, as shown on page 5, Exhibit I. Employers are saying their workforces are aging and they are concerned that the young adults coming, regardless of their education, are not ready because they have not had experience with adults in a work setting. We had conversations with many young adults in their 20s who said it was their first time working with adults.
When we sent out our young adult survey of Nevadans aged 16 to 29, we got results from 782 individuals. I have broken that data down to counties on page 7, Exhibit I.
We also broke down the data by age groups to see if there were any nuanced differences, page 8, Exhibit I. The majority of the respondents, regardless of age, had a high school diploma or General Education Development (GED) certificate as their highest level of education.
The majority of young adults were not employed, page 9, Exhibit I, and what was more surprising was that those respondents had not even held a part-time job or had any exposure to work-based learning opportunities. We had a significantly high response rate to our short survey, and we also held focus groups in Clark County, Carson City and Elko.
Employment by age group was interesting, page 10, Exhibit I. When we asked them what they perceived as their greatest barrier to training and employment, education was the No. 1 factor, page 11, Exhibit I.
We also looked at the perception of employment barriers by age group because we wanted to see if there was any difference in perception and reality, page 13, Exhibit I. Again, education came out as the No. 1 barrier. Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 30
We summarized the key takeaways from the survey on page 14, Exhibit I. Young adults were disproportionately inexperienced with work-based learning opportunities or internships so they could not fully understand what their barriers were, but they had theories. We also found that their perception of industries were largely limited to occupations of family members or industries with a strong regional presence. In public comment at one meeting, someone expressed the idea that people are often interested in what they are exposed to.
For example, early in high school, I had a work-based learning opportunity in a prosecutor’s office that made me realize I did not want to be prosecutor. These work-based opportunities and internships are very important for a student’s success and there are financial consequences of not having those experiences. There was one disheartening conversation we had with a young man who had dropped out of school, not because he could not do the work, but because he just did not understand how important it was in terms of getting him a job. There were many similar stories from other young adults.
We compiled the most consistent quotes from respondents on page 15 (Exhibit I). “How can we get experience when every job requires experience?” they ask. Comparing the high schoolers with the older group, there was a stark difference, especially between those who had an internship or work-based opportunity and those who did not. Those with the experience got it. For example, they could understand why an employer would not want them to be texting while speaking to someone. Without that workplace experience, that concept was almost elusive. “I did not think about that,” they might say. We have more than 700 emails from young adults who want to be contacted if there is any promise of work or information that can help them.
Our office, OWINN, manages the industry sector councils whose mission is to provide insights for in-demand occupation skills and requirements for success. We have industry sector councils in all eight of the existing and emerging industries. We also have education and labor representatives convening to assess both the challenges and skill-set needs of having a workforce that is well prepared. Three things consistently came out in conversations with employers, page 18, Exhibit I. Employers said that kids in high school can have a 4.0 grade point average, but if they have not had an internship or work-based learning experience, there was a difference in how they interacted and thus their likelihood to succeed in the job. The lack of appropriate soft skills, the personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively with others, was Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 31 significantly concerning to employers. Just understanding appropriate behavior in the workplace was important.
When we think about expanding internships and work-based learning opportunities for students, I definitely believe that if we ask, “How are the children?” with S.B. 66, the children themselves will say, “We are well.”
SENATOR HARRIS: I noticed that in the text of the bill, this could actually result in more credit hours for students than would be required for high school graduation, but will be applied toward elective credits. Since we are going to open it up to ninth grade through twelfth grade, how many elected credits will students be able to take at the high school level?
MR. CANAVERO: It depends. For work-based learning experience, that would be part of the agreement and the plan that would be ultimately approved by the SBE for a school district and employer partnership. That would dictate the credit hours and for which subject area those credit hours would accrue.
SENATOR HARRIS: So, children could get more credits for high school than required, but they are not required to use all of their elective credits to participate in the program?
MR. CANAVERO: I believe that is accurate. We are just eliminating the one-credit barrier that exists in statute. This would allow a work-based learning experience to amass more credit hours against electives or other associated core credits, depending on the district determination.
MR. LAMARRE: When I was initially reviewing NRS 389.167, I had a conversation with some students and they said saying no more than one credit was too limiting.
SENATOR HARRIS: I understand that concern, because at the higher education level, 45 hours of an internship equals one credit hour in college. I just want to have a conversation about what the expectations of the employers will be because I know we have kids who probably want to do too much. They will want to do work-based Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 32 learning programs but not impact their electives. I think being able to network and have life experiences and be trained for employment is a wonderful thing, but it needs to be balanced with being able to explore their learning opportunities and taking classes they would not otherwise take, to become a more well-rounded person.
CHAIR DENIS: I will now take testimony in support of S.B. 66. We have a proposed amendment, Exhibit H.
MS. ANDERSON: We received the amendment this morning and it is being reviewed. We are in full support of allowing students to do more. We sometimes have more children than employers because employers can perceive it as a burden to have to spend extra time to teach skills to the students. We want to engage the private sector to make sure this works for the employers so we do not promise an opportunity for students that does not play out. We look forward to working through those issues.
CRAIG M. STEVENS (Clark County School District): We are in full support of S.B. 66. We feel work-based learning is an important part of our program, especially our CTE program and we appreciate the opportunity to apply for these grant monies. One clarification that may need to be made is what nonprofits may qualify. Perhaps it could be done through regulation, not from this body, but from the SBE.
CHAIR DENIS: I had that question, too.
MS. FERRATO: The Nevada Association of School Boards is very much in support of this bill. Expanding this program and allowing more flexibility is great and will get our students into the workforce to test out what they like and what they do not like. We have some questions on the nonprofit portion, but we will get those questions answered.
The Nevada Builders Alliance is also in full support of S.B. 66. They have glanced over the amendment and seem initially comfortable with it. The NBA has an entire industry looking for more people to work for them and think this is Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 33 a great opportunity to recruit kids into the construction industry and give them opportunities.
MS. PIERCZYNSKI: We support S.B. 66 with one concern. If it is a competitive grant, for some of our rural districts, it is more difficult to be competitive because they do not have grant writers, so hopefully that will be taken into consideration.
MR. GAVIN: We support this bill and we applaud Superintendent Canavero for his willingness to do important and innovative and work that can impact the lives of kids in the State. The new language in section 2, subsection 3 of the proposed amendment increases the rigor and transparency of this program and ensures that these will be quality experiences for kids to benefit them as well as the employers.
MR. HARRISON: The Las Vegas Metro Chamber is extremely supportive of the opportunity for quality work-based learning opportunities and the potential opportunity for partnerships with the private sector. The Reno Sparks Chamber also supports this bill.
MR. AUGSPURGER: We strongly support S.B. 66.
CHAIR DENIS: If there are no speakers in opposition or neutral to S.B. 66, I will close the hearing and opening public comment.
MS. BOWEN: Since No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top all became very centered in testing to see what a student knew and could do, I suggest that the Nevada Legislature get us back to what needs to be done in education. You need to be presented with material and have the opportunity to digest the material and then after you have had all your classes, lessons and lectures, if you do not master the material, then why do it? Why spend time in our public schools if you are being saddled with education discrimination by virtual education?
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I can give you a lecture on how to bake a cake. I can show you a movie on how to bake a cake. I can give you a test on how to bake that cake based on the lectures and the movie and you can get 100 percent, but you do not know how to bake a cake because you were denied. Because the classroom was too expensive, you were denied the classroom with the oven and the licensed teachers and the ingredients to bake that cake.
I believe the State owes the students who failed the proficiency test in mathematics an apology and a diploma. If you met the graduation requirements the State had in place, that proficiency test, especially in mathematics, violated State statute because the statute says you cannot test what you have not taught. In high school graduation requirements, you have certain classes that met the requirements and you gave diplomas and then the proficiency test came into place.
The proficiency test tested things that were not taught because at that time you gave classes for graduation requirements, and they did not require you to have geometry, algebra or any of those things. Maybe we should issue diplomas back when those proficiency tests went in place. I have submitted additional written testimony (Exhibit J).
Remainder of page intentionally left blank. Signature page to follow.
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CHAIR DENIS: Seeing no one else wanting to make public comment, I adjourn this meeting of the Senate Committee on Education at 6:03 p.m.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
Linda Hiller, Committee Secretary
APPROVED BY:
Senator Moises Denis, Chair
DATE: Senate Committee on Education February 9, 2017 Page 36
EXHIBIT SUMMARY Exhibit / Bill Witness / Entity Description # of pages A 1 Agenda B 7 Attendance Roster Presentation: Dual Enrollment: S.B. 19 C 13 Jennifer Zinth / ECS 2017 S.B. 19 & National Context S.B. 19 D 17 Jennifer Zinth / ECS Dual Enrollment Report S.B. 19 E 2 Michael Flores / CSN CSN Dual Enrollment S.B. 19 F 1 Frank R. Woodbeck / JAG Letter of Support S.B. 19 G 1 Tiffany T. Tyler / CIS Submitted Letter of Support S.B. 66 Proposed S.B. 66 H 2 Steve Canavero / NDE Amendment OWINN Young Adult Report S.B. 66 I 21 Manny Lamarre / OWINN Presentation S.B. 66 J 1 Peggy Lear Bowen Written Testimony